Iran summons UK ambassador to protest Revolutionary Guards ban

Iran's foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Britain's ambassador to Tehran to protest the ban this week on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, vowing that the move would "not go unanswered".

"Following the unjustified action of the British government in placing the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the 'State Threats Prevention Act', Hugo Shorter, the British ambassador to Tehran, was summoned today, Wednesday... at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," state news agency IRNA said.

It added that the move would be "met with a reciprocal and decisive response from Iran".

The UK government on Monday announced plans to ban Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a threat to national security, alongside an Iran-linked group accused of a series of attacks against the Jewish community.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said on Monday that "anyone found supporting or assisting these groups will now face up to 14 years in prison".

The proposed law is to be presented to parliament this week.

The banned groups would also include proxies and volunteers of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, and the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, an Iran-linked group which has claimed attacks on Jewish properties in London.

The new legislation gives the British government "proscription-like" powers to designate foreign state proxies deemed a threat to Britain's national security.

"The move will step up the government's ability to counter state threats linked to foreign powers including espionage, foreign interference in our democracy, sabotage and physical attacks," the Home Office interior ministry said in a statement.

The announcement comes after several antisemitic attacks struck the British capital earlier this year, including a spate of arson attacks on synagogues, community ambulances and other Jewish sites.